We provide professional opportunities for early career creatives to work on shows at the Young Vic as an assistant, trainee assistant or to make your own work.
These opportunities are always filled via open recruitment drives, which are advertised through the Creators Program Network.
Assistantships
Learning from experienced artists by assisting is a vital chance to develop skills and understanding. Equally, having the chance to spend time in a theatre and to understand how the various departments work together is also an important aspect of an artist's knowledge. Each year we provide five assistantships which include a work placement at the Young Vic and an attachment to a production. The scheme will include:
- An assistantship on a Young Vic production or co-production
- A two-week tailored placement observing day to day running of the theatre, attending planning and management meetings and spending time in departments such as marketing, production and development
- The opportunity to devise and lead a peer-led project for the Creators Program Network Each assistant will receive a fee to cover their placement and assistantship on a production.
Recent Assistant Directors include:
- Phillippe Cato (The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman, directed by Lyndsey Turner)
- Aaliyah Mckay (A Face in the Crowd, book by Sarah Ruhl, music and lyrics by Elvis Costello, directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah)
- Natalie Simone (Nachtland by Marius von Mayerburg, directed by Patrick Marber)
- Bellaray Bertrand-Webb (The Homecoming by Harold Pinter, directed by Matthew Dunste
- Tian Brown-Sampson (Passing Strange, book by Stew, music by Stew Stewart and Heidi Rodewald, directed by Liesl Tommy)
Trainee assistantships
The Trainee Assistant Director role provides an opportunity for a director or theatre maker to gain experience observing rehearsals of a Young Vic show. They have the chance to experience the workings of the rehearsal room, the relationships between the creative team, and the craft of the actor.
This opportunity is made available depending on the need of each production and to best facilitate the trainees’ professional development.
Recent Trainee Assistant Directors include:
- Aoife Scott (The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman, directed by Lyndsey Turner)
- Neve Adams (Girl in the Machine by Stef Smith, directed by Annie Kershaw)
- Neemrit Gill (The Collective presents: AiTopia, directed by Michelle Payne)
- Elodie Wilson (A Face in the Crowd, book by Sarah Ruhl, music and lyrics by Elvis Costello, directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah)
- Nathanael Campbell (Passing Strange, book by Stew, music by Stew Stewart and Heidi Rodewald, directed by Liesl Tommy)
Genesis Future Directors Award
Between 2003 and 2024, the Genesis Future Directors Award enabled us to identify, support and nurture a director to explore their craft and stage a production in the Clare Theatre. The Award was aimed at emerging directors who have demonstrated a talent for, and commitment to, directing but had had limited opportunity to make work.
The recipient of the Award had the opportunity to rehearse for four weeks on a play of their choice. The director was able to work with up to three actors and a full creative team. The productions were part of the Young Vic's programme and fully supported by the Young Vic's creative, administrative and production teams. The project concluded with 12 performances to a paying audience in the Clare Theatre. There were two awards per year.
Recent Genesis Future Directors Award recipients include:
- Annie Kershaw, 2024
- Andrea Ling, 2023
- Deirdre McLaughlin, 2022
- Diyan Zora, 2021
- Dadiow Lin, 2019
- Caitriona Shoobridge, 2019
- Lekan Lawal, 2018
- Debbie Hannan, 2018
- John R. Wilkinson, 2017
- Nancy Medina, 2017
- Luke Skilbeck, 2016
- Bryony Shanahan, 2016
- Ola Ince, 2015
- Rikki Henry, 2015
- Tinuke Craig, 2014
- Finn Beames, 2014
- Matthew Xia, 2013
- Ben Kidd, 2012
The Genesis Future Directors Award Program was made possible by the generous support of the Genesis Foundation.
Genesis Fellow
The Genesis Fellowship, a two-year grant supported by the Genesis Foundation, enables the recipient to develop their craft as a theatre director whilst working closely with the Young Vic’s Artistic Director.
Opportunities whilst in post include supporting the theatre’s programming and artistic planning, contributing to the work of the Young Vic’s Creators Program and mentoring Genesis Future Directors Award recipients. The Genesis Foundation supports the Genesis Fellowship, and the Genesis Future Directors Award at the Young Vic.
Previous Genesis Fellows include:
- Jennifer Tang
- Nadia Latif
- Gbolahan Obisesan
- Natalie Abrahami
- Carrie Cracknell
- Joe Hill-Gibbins
Our 2023-25 Genesis Fellow is Taio Lawson.
The Genesis Fellowship is made possible by the generous support of the Genesis Foundation.